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Latest Gigawave Systems Go into Action at MotoGP™ Championship

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Vislink has announced the successful deployment of new Gigawave wireless camera systems for their first live event coverage during the MotoGP™ Championship in Valencia, Spain, in November.

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Gigawave took “INCAM”, its new integrated wireless camera system and the new “Clip-On 4” wireless camera transmitter – both first shown at IBC 2012 – to the MotoGP Championship to be put through their paces by Dorna Sports, the exclusive commercial and television rights holder for the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix - MotoGP.

The Gigawave INCAM system was used during practice and qualifying and proved highly popular with cameramen. Designed in co-operation with Sony, INCAM marks a departure from the traditional method of attaching wireless transmitters to a camera's rear battery plate by fitting snugly within the body of Sony’s new HDC-2500 camera, which provides significant advantages in terms of weight distribution and streamlined configuration functions.

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Lance Hiley, chief marketing officer for Vislink International Ltd said, “The feedback we received from the professional cameramen at Valencia indicates that the sleek profile of the integrated design and the superior overall balance enabled them to transition from shoulder to hand-held positions with ease, allowing them to focus on capturing the excitement and emotion of the event. The ability to configure the transmitter through the camera's existing viewfinder menu was also a substantial, time-saving benefit.

Clip-On 4

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“I believe the integral INCAM will define the future of wireless camera design. Gigawave’s innovative ideas, combined with technology pioneered by our Link brand, have allowed us to build a 3G SDI camera that enables cameramen to focus totally on the action while providing video transmission performance of the very highest quality.”

The Clip-On 4 is designed for use with both HD and SD cameras for ENG, OB and studio applications. The Clip-On 4 benefits from ultra-low latency of just half a frame (20ms) with H.264 encoding. Dorna used the Clip-On 4-equipped camera throughout the championship weekend with no intervention required by Gigawave’s on-site support team. Dorna in particular cited the unit’s H.264 performance as a highlight. Not only was the image quality deemed to be superior, but more efficient video encoding meant that less microwave spectrum was required and lower modulation schemes could be used, which is important when cameramen need more robust RF performance to access remote or obstructed areas to capture images that would otherwise be impossible.

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Hiley said, “We believe that proving our broadcast solutions in an environment as challenging as MotoGP enables us to further develop game-changing products that keep us at the forefront of wireless broadcasting product design. This deployment clearly demonstrated the flexibility and performance of our Gigawave products. Moreover, for customers who need the ability to rapidly configure transmitters for different tasks, Clip-On 4 proved to be an ideal H.264-enabled solution.”

Gigawave is the official radio frequency supplier to MotoGP. Its wireless systems and a range of ancillary technologies are used extensively by Dorna Sports to broadcast images from MotoGP race circuits. For example, each MotoGP bike is equipped with three Gigawave on-board HD cameras; pit lane cameras are fitted with Gigawave's HD D-Cam Clip-On's; and helicopters are equipped with Gigawave wireless video links for aerial shots of the action. All systems transmit to Dorna’s production studio via a Gigawave MDR receive system.

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Hiley concludes, “The future of wireless camera systems is very bright. There are new customer segments appearing everywhere and we are expanding our product portfolio to incorporate numerous new approaches to meet those customers’ needs. The Gigawave products that we successfully tested at the MotoGP Championship are just a taster of what’s to come in 2013.”

About VISLINKVislink plc is a global technology business specialising in the collection and delivery of high quality video and associated data from the field to point of usage. Our solutions include the design and manufacture of microwave radio, satellite transmission, wireless camera and IP (Internet Protocol) technologies. Vislink provides solutions to the broadcast market for the collection of live news, sport and entertainment events and to the video surveillance market including government, law enforcement and public safety customers. With offices in the UK, USA, Dubai, Singapore, Australia and South Africa we employ over 250 people worldwide and have revenues of £50 million. The Company is fully listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:VLK). For further information, visit www.vislink.com